2016 Hockenheim I
The was the first meeting of the new 2016 DTM Season, held at the traditional home of the DTM, Hockenheim. Races one and two of the season were held in Hockenheim, with the series retaining the two race format from 2015, but would not feature the defending Champion Pascal Wehrlein. Race one had a maiden pole sitter in , although the Swiss driver was unable to defend his lead from the start, leaving Edoardo Mortara to claim the opening race of the season. Muller would ultimately finish third in an action packed race, also being beaten by Canadian Robert Wickens who missed out on victory by just over a second. The second race featured the first safety car of the season, although even that did not trouble pole sitter Paul di Resta, as he claimed his first race victory since his return in 2014. The Scot dominated the race, although an issue during his pitstop almost allowed Gary Paffett to snatch the lead, until the Brit was handed an unsafe release penalty and dropped to the back of the pack. Timo Glock would go on to finish the race in second, although he was later disqualified from the result for illegal bodywork, meaning Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin completed the second podium of the season. Background The winter of 2015 saw Mercedes release their new C63 DTM model, while also finding a replacement for Pascal Wehrlein.'Pascal Wehrlein to drive for Manor in 2016 Formula 1 season', bbc.co.uk, (BBC Sport, 10/02/2016), http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35538851, (Accessed 10/02/2016) Wehrlein, together with Mercedes, arranged a deal to drive with Manor Racing in Formula One, leaving a vacant seat in the Stuttgart squad for the new season. They opted to call up their reserve driver Esteban Ocon, with FIA European Formula 3 Champion Felix Rosenqvist taking over the testing and reserve role.'DRIVES HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED – OCON IS THE ONLY DTM NOVICE', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 11/02/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/drives-have-been-allocated-ocon-only-dtm-novice-2016-02-11.html, (Accessed 11/02/2016)'ROSENQVIST NEW MERCEDES-BENZ TEST AND RESERVE DRIVER', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 26/02/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/rosenqvist-new-mercedes-benz-test-and-reserve-driver-2016-02-26.html, (Accessed 28/02/2016) Ocon would join Gary Paffett at ART Grand Prix amid a wave of changes to their teams, with only Paffett, Paul di Resta and Robert Wickens staying with their teams.'TEAM ALLOCATION: A NEW FORMATION FOR MERCEDES-BENZ', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 18/02/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/team-allocation-new-formation-mercedes-benz-2016-02-18.html, (Accessed 18/02/2016) took on Lucas Auer and Christian Vietoris, while Daniel Juncadella and joined the factory backed Team HWA efforts. BMW and Audi opted to retain all eight of their respective drivers, although there was movement among their teams. BMW Team RMG adopted Timo Glock, while Maxime Martin moved to BMW Team RBM in response.'ROTATIONS – FARFUS, MARTIN AND GLOCK TO CHANGE TEAMS', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 04/02/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/rotations-farfus-martin-and-glock-change-teams-2016-02-05.html, (Accessed 11/02/2016) Augusto Farfus was therefore placed with BMW Team MTEK, while Audi had and Adrien Tambay swap seats.Adam, Mitchell and Watkins, Gary, 'Audi makes one change to its driver line-up for 2016 DTM season', autosport.com, (HayMarket Media, 28/11/2015), http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122047, (Accessed 30/11/2015) Entries Below is the entry list for the : Qualifying (Race One) Mike Rockenfeller led the field onto a hot Hockenheim circuit at midday on Saturday, the German quick to get his #99 Audi RS5 DTM up to speed.'DTM Hockenheim 2016 - Qualifying (Race 1) - Re-Live (English)', youtube.com, (YouTube: DTM, 07/05/2016), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPzU21giNFs, (Accessed 07/05/2016) His first flying lap, however, would be a poor one, with the green and yellow Audi flashing across the line with a lap in the 1:35.000s, Rockenfeller citing Esteban Ocon as the reason for his delay. His lap was quickly beaten by Christian Vietoris for Mercedes before he was toppled by Augusto Farfus in the earliest exchanges of the session. Elsewhere, Mercedes were forced to concede defeat in their attempts to rebuild Lucas Auer's car before qualifying, the Austrian having crashed heavily during first practice.'NICO MÜLLER TAKES MAIDEN DTM POLE POSITION', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 07/05/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/nico-m-ller-takes-maiden-dtm-pole-position-2016-05-07.html, (Accessed 07/05/2016) As Gary Paffett went for a bounce through the gravel trap at the Sud Kurve, Jamie Green went fastest overall for Audi, holding the lead until the fifteen minute mark. Moments later Paffett put a lap together to go fastest, before he was toppled by Robert Wickens, the Canadian setting a 1:34.105 as set his first time of the day in the mid-pack. Wickens remained fastest through the halfway point in the session, with the majority of the field in the pits until the final three minutes. had shown stunning pace throughout the practice sessions, and so there was little surprise that the Swiss driver was sat in second before the final runs. Yet, predictions for pole would prove fruitless as the field suddenly shifted as the cars completed their fastest laps in the dying seconds of the session. Edoardo Mortara was the first to topple Wickens, besting the Canadian by just 0.004s, before Green saw a quick lap destroyed by traffic up ahead. Then, stunningly, it was Muller on pole, the Swiss driver breaking into the 1:33.000s for the first time all weekend to take pole. It was to be a maiden pole for Muller, who was joined by Mortara on the front row, with Wickens the best of the Mercedes down in third, sharing with Green who put together a strong last lap to claim fourth. Marco Wittmann led BMW's contingent down in tenth, the Munich manufacturer largely disappointed at their display. Qualifying One Results The results of the qualifying session for the first race are displayed below: ** Auer will race at the stewards' discretion after failing to set a qualifying time due to damage sustained in practice. Race One A warm afternoon in Germany greeted the field for the first race of 2016, as pulled onto the pole position grid slot for the first time in his DTM career.'TURBULENT, CAPTIVE, THRILLING - MORTARA WINS SEASON OPENER', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 07/05/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/edoardo-mortara-wins-action-packed-season-opener-2016-05-07.html, (Accessed 07/05/2016) He would hope to turn his maiden pole into a maiden victory, but he would have to try and beat the four time race winner off the line. Jamie Green, meanwhile, would be a threat from fourth, many tipping the Brit as the favourite for the DTM Championship in 2016. Report Result The full result from race one is displayed below: Qualifying (Race Two) The air temperature in Hockenheim broke thirty degrees ahead of qualifying for race two, although the track temperature remained below what it had been on Saturday.'DTM Hockenheim 2016 - Qualifying (Race 2) - Re-Live (English)', youtube.com, (YouTube: DTM, 08/05/2016), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7GmakqHD9c, (Accessed 08/05/2016) Maxime Martin led the field out onto the circuit for the penultimate session of the weekend, and the first qualifying of the year to be affected by success ballast. He, however, would not be the first to set a time, as Christian Vietoris swept across the line two minutes later to open the session with a 1:36.320, before being quickly toppled by Esteban Ocon. Timo Glock, meanwhile, would abandon his first attempt after a mistake, opting to pit rather than cause damage to his tyres. As half time approached, Paul di Resta hit the top of the pack, his time of 1:34.514 only standing for a few seconds as Ocon flashed across the line to return to the summit. Martin was next through, besting Ocon's time before di Resta responded with a 1:34.060 to set the fastest time by over two tenths of a second. Race one winner Edoardo Mortara, meanwhile, pushed his Audi into tenth, the best placed car for the Ingolstadt manufacturer who were being hampered by their success ballast from Saturday.'POLE POSITION FOR PAUL DI RESTA', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 08/05/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/pole-position-paul-di-resta-2016-05-08.html, (Accessed 08/05/2016) The field swept into the pits just after half-time, with only Vietoris on circuit for a couple of minutes. There was a sudden flurry of activity with four minutes to go, as the drivers returned to the circuit for one final blast. Miguel Molina was one of the first to hit the circuit again, and as a result got caught behind Molina through the final sector of his attempt, ruining his lap and leaving the Spaniard to complain to his pitcrew over the radio. Elsewhere, went for a bounce through the grass on the exit of the final corner, effectively ruining two laps in one move, while Timo Scheider ran wide through the Sud Kurve to end his final attempt. The session, however, would effectively be ended with five seconds to go, as Lucas Auer tried to carry too much speed through the first corner, slid, and in his attempts to get his car back under control got caught by the gravel trap at the end of the run off area. With Auer's car beached the session was effectively over, leaving di Resta on pole for the first time since his return, ahead of Augusto Farfus and Gary Paffett, while Jamie Green would start from eleventh, the best of the Audis. Post-Qualifying (Two) The results of qualifying for race two are shown below. Race Two Another warm afternoon in Hockenheim greeted the field for the second race of 2016, with Paul di Resta on pole for the first time since his Championship year of 2010.'THE ACTION CONTINUES – DI RESTA WINS THRILLING SECOND RACE', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 08/05/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/action-continues-di-resta-wins-thrilling-second-race-2016-05-08.html, (Accessed 09/05/2016) The Scot would race with the heaviest car in the field, a fate shared by all of the Mercedes C63 DTM drivers for race two, leaving the odds stacked against the former Champion as the whether he could take his first win since Hockenheim 2010. Elsewhere, attention would be on the Audi hoard at the back of the field, with the Ingolstadt backed machinery now the lightest cars in the field, and having tremendous pace as Edoardo Mortara demonstrated in race one. Report A stunning start for di Resta saw the Scot sweep into the first corner well ahead of his rivals, as Augusto Farfus got a poor run into the first corner, leaving him to go three abreast with Maxime Martin and Gary Paffett.'Race 2 Highlights - DTM Hockenheim 2016', youtube.com, (YouTube: DTM, 08/05/2016), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S_TAuuNGfU, (Accessed 09/05/2016) Elsewhere, the familiar fanning out of the field across the run off at turn one meant everyone made it through the first corner, before the concertina effect into turn two caused the field to bunch up once again. Three drivers would fall victim of this effect, after an opportunist move by saw him accidentally collect Esteban Ocon as the field went through the second corner. There was little the Frenchman could do as momentum carried him into the back of Bruno Spengler, the Canadian immediately thrown into a spin with Ocon still sliding into his car. Then there was Jamie Green, whose attempts to take avoiding action ended with him being smacked by the sliding Ocon, all three eventually sliding into the gravel trap on the edge of the run off. All three were out as a result, Green and Ocon in the gravel while Spengler limped back to the pits to retire. The safety car was called so the cars could be removed, with Mortara recovering to the back of the field having thrown his car into a spin to avoid the collision ahead of him.'RACE 2 IN DETAIL', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 08/05/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/paul-di-resta-wins-sunday-2016-05-08.html, (Accessed 09/05/2016) Once Ocon and Green were removed, the race was back under way with just seven minutes gone with di Resta sprinting away from Martin. The Belgian, however, would have difficulty in responding the Scot's early sprint being as he happened in the sights of Paffett, who had completed a move on Farfus early on lap one. A dive down the inside of the Mercedes Arena gave the Brit the place, leaving him to chase after di Resta already two seconds up the road. Results The results from the second race are displayed below: ** Car #16 excluded for illegal bodywork.'TIMO GLOCK EXCLUDED', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 08/05/2016), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/timo-glock-excluded-2016-05-08.html, (Accessed 09/05/2016) Milestones *Début for Esteban Ocon. *First time since 2011 that the defending Champion has not started a race. *Maiden pole position for . *Fourth career win for Edoardo Mortara. **Maiden podium for Muller. *Paul di Resta claimed his first pole position since Shanghai 2010. **Also di Resta's sixth DTM pole. *First DTM race victory for di Resta since Hockenheim 2010. **di Resta's seventh career victory. **Fifth podium for Maxime Martin. Standings Paul di Resta's imperious display in the second race of the weekend meant the Scot left Hockenheim in the lead of the Championship, nine points ahead of Robert Wickens. The Canadian had two strong performances to claim 28 points, leaving him three clear of race one winner Edoardo Mortara. was also among the early front runners in fourth, and the only other man with more than 20 points, while Maxime Martin completed the top five. Of the 24 drivers entered in the 2016 Championship 16 had scored in Hockenheim. Team HWA had both of their teams leading the Teams' Championship, the second entry led by di Resta leading the way courtesy of the Scot's 37 points from the weekend. Behind the two HWA outfits was the Abt Sportsline team, with Mortara leading their challenge, while BMW Team RBM led the BMW challenge from fourth. As for the Brands' Championship, it was Mercedes who led the way with 87 points, 22 clear of BMW, while Audi would leave Hockenheim with 50. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:Races Category:2016 Races Category:Hockenheim